How COVID-19 Could Change Wellness - Sam Slade

Monday, July 13, 2020

Sam Slade, Contributor

 

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Sam Slade

Employers have been continuing to expand wellness programs and activities. According to SHRM’s 2019 Employee Benefits Survey, 58% of organizations had wellness programs last year, with 30% increasing their offerings. The reason is that wellness initiatives are designed to help improve employee behavior and reduce their health risks, lowering costly health problems down the road.

But despite their popularity, COVID-19 could threaten the programs’ ROI if employees stop participating. With some workers wary of in-person programming right now and telecommuting here to stay, driving continued engagement requires a new approach. Here are some wellness program ideas for today’s evolving workplaces.

1. Offer Home-based Options: Even if your company is offering on-site programming right now, employees may have safety concerns about taking part. So whether your workers are back in the office or still remote, make sure they have other opportunities to engage in wellness activities virtually. Consider offering access to live online fitness classes or on-demand seminars on topics like nutrition.

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2. Encourage Engagement: Most employer-sponsored plans offer many opportunities for employees and covered family members to engage. Depending on the specifics of your program and what your health plan offers, consider incenting employees to register for the member portal, wellness app, telehealth portal and/or app, EAP portal/app, and so on. When employees take the time to register, they may learn about programs of interest they wouldn’t have otherwise known about and they’ll also be ready to go when they want to engage further.

3. Support Connections: Since social connections are key to keeping employees motivated, especially during periods of isolation, be sure to keep up channels of communication for participants. And since many wellness programs feature challenges as motivation, consider ways to foster healthy competition and provide a sense of community like a virtual 5K or other fitness challenge employees can participate in.

4. Incorporate Mindfulness: With 45% of Americans reporting negative mental health effects due to COVID-19, according to Kaiser Family Foundation, providing employees support to help alleviate anxiety is critical. Start by educating your team on mindfulness and the benefits of practicing it. And offer sponsored online yoga or guided meditation classes or provide digital mindfulness apps as part of your program. You’ll also want to encourage employees to do breathing exercises as they work.

5. Consider Remote Coaching: Just like telemedicine use has skyrocketed during the pandemic, remote coaching can be an effective way to keep workers progressing so think about using technology to connect coaches and workers. Coaches can keep employees participating by checking in with them regularly or even offering one-on-one sessions, giving them the support and guidance they need to meet their goals.

Sam Slade is Managing Director, Employee Benefits, at The Hilb Group of New England, where he delivers consulting and brokerage services to local employers. He has extensive experience in all aspects of employee benefits, including underwriting, plan design, communications, compliance, and analytics, with a particular focus on alternative funding and self-insurance. Sam lives in South Kingstown with his wife and three sons.  

 

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